Kindness
by ladyd10
Summary: A short one shot of Special Agent Jenny Shepard and Mossad Officer Ziva David prior to Kill Ari. When one partner is suffering and injured, how do you care for them? Bad summary, sweet one shot.


_**Kindness**_

_**A/N: This little one-shot takes place in late winter in southern Ireland in 2005, before either character has yet to come to the Navy Yard.**_

Ziva shivered by the fire that Jenny had prodded back to life. She was soaked to the skin and chilled to the very marrow of her bones. Not even in Moscow in December had she ever felt so cold. The sudden downpour took her completely by surprise. Lucky for her that it did the same for the terrorist they had been tracking. The fight was made slick by the sudden appearance of mud under their feet, that is, when it wasn't trying to hoover the very boots from her feet. She wiped at her running nose and coughed a little, irritating her swollen left shoulder and lancing a sharp pain through her ribcage. The only injury it didn't annoy was her twisted and slightly mushy left knee. She just didn't want to think about it. She coughed again, suppressing a soft gasp and slight wince.

Jenny looked up from the fire at her partner's cough, catching the gasp and wince that Ziva wished to hide. "Why don't you go and get out of those wet clothes while I draw you a hot bath?"

Ziva rose, wincing yet again as her weight shifted onto her left leg. It throbbed with every beat of her heart. She nodded. "I will find something else to wear. I only take showers, Jenny. Baths are for-"

"Taking the chill out of your bones and the ache out of muscles after a good fight," Jenny said, cutting her partner off. "Go and get that wet stuff off and then we'll work on getting you warmed up and patched up, alright?"

Ziva pulled a face, but went into the single bedroom that the cottage had and began to pull off her soaking wet clothing, all made the more difficult by her injuries, just beginning to stiffen and pound. She already felt like hell and she knew she'd feel even worse by morning.

Jenny smiled softly after the impossibly tough young Mossad Officer that she had been paired with as she departed. She knew the amount of pain the woman was in and Jenny was determined to help her out, whether she liked it or not.

The NCIS agent entered the bathroom and turned on the tap and began drawing a soothingly hot bath. With a little thought, she decided to add a bit of lavender and chamomile oils to the Epsom salts already dissolving in the water. She waited in the lightly fragrant steam until she was happy with the water level. Turning the tap off, she left, shutting the door behind her and stood outside the bedroom door. "Ziva, is everything okay?"

There was the sound of shuffling and then the door opened slowly, showing a robe clad Ziva. "I just..I, uhm-"

Jenny gently guided Ziva into the bathroom. "A nice, hot bath, some first aide and then a nice, long sleep. Go on, get in and relax."

Ziva eyeballed the hot bath with skepticism before dropping the robe and sliding in the wonderfully fragrant bath. This was NOT going in her mission report. "Toda, Jenny."

"Bevakasha. Call me when you're ready to get out and I'll bring you something warm to wear," Jenny said, closing the door behind her.

Ziva sank into the blissfully hot water with a sigh of relief. She knew that her injuries probably should be iced instead of having heat applied, but she was so cold that she didn't care. She held her nose closed and slid all the way under and held herself there for a few moments before breaking the surface and smoothing her hair back from her face. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Jenny went into the kitchen and took a bottle of Tullimore Dew, Ireland's finest whiskey, out of the cabinet over the sink, poured a couple of fingers each in two glasses and set one in a warm water bath for Ziva, keeping her's room temperature. She wasn't exactly sure how old Ziva was, but, she was definitely over 18 and in most of Europe, that was legal.

Sipping the sweet liquor, she returned to the fireside and pulled out a shopping back full of things that she had bought earlier in the day while she and Ziva played tourist while waiting for their quarry to surface. She pulled the items out and lay them on the hearth to warm before the fire.

She had never expected to feel so protective over the young, tough as nails Mossad Officer, but she did. It had been a long while in coming. They had been partnered last fall in Serbia and then Moscow. They chased their targets through most of Europe before landing in a small town in the south of Ireland. Over that time, Ziva had earned not only her respect, but trust and friendship.

Seeing the Israeli try to hide the constant shiver from the bone-piercing damp she obviously had felt since touching down on Irish soil made that protectiveness burn hotter. Ziva tried to hide it from her for days and never once complained of feeling cold. Smiling softly to herself, she ran fingers over the clothing she had bought for her partner because she knew the proud, tough young woman would never think to do it for herself. Soft, warm, oatmeal colored woolen knit socks, thick, heather green, flannel pajama bottoms, and a soft, woven linen, oatmeal colored, long sleeved top. She had bought Ziva a few more things more suited to the climate along with some things she supplemented her own wardrobe with, hats, gloves and scarves, mostly. Lastly, she pulled out the softest blue green woven mohair blanket and set it on the hearth as well just as she heard Ziva call her name.

Jenny gathered the items and entered the bathroom to find Ziva struggling with getting out of the bathtub. "Whoa, hold on; let me help you with that."

Grabbing a towel, she tossed it around her partner and assisted her out of the tub, handing her another to use to dry off. When Ziva was done, Jenny took the time to assess the injuries. Ribs were definitely cracked. Shoulder wrenched, but not severely damaged and the knee was a pulpy mess. The elder woman gently wrapped Ziva's ribcage and knee and the assisted her into the cozy clothing before helping her to the soft, downy bed, spreading the warmed blanket over her.

"Jenny, I-"

"Hush," Jenny said, leaving and then returning with the mildly warmed whiskey. She handed it to Ziva. "It'll help you relax and sleep. Before you say anything, I have your back and you need the rest. You dispatched the guy and we took care of the body. No one is coming here tonight or tomorrow. You need to rest. Sip that slowly."

Ziva caved, knowing that her new partner was right. No one was coming for at least 24 hours and she did need to relax and heal up. She sipped the warm, sweet beverage and sighed again. Irish whiskey, and the good stuff her father had in his study at home. She had never had it warmed and straight up before and it wasn't long before her head was feeling wooly and her eyes so heavy that she couldn't keep them open any longer. She felt Jenny take the glass from her hand and tuck the soft blanket around her.

"Sleep well."


End file.
